I too would like to join this lovely club. Gator is the type of dog who in public will never be off a prong. Sorsha is a good little angel unless she sees a bunny, a squirrel or mommy is trying to stay clean and dressed up for a photo shoot with Michelle right there to see how terrible she is acting.

Not only am I a member of the Michelle says my dog is fat club I'm the president!I can Alpha Roll hair!

I had to laugh when I read that - that's what I've been trying to use with A-Jay. We are going through the same thing you are. He is just a living doll in the back yard, but as soon as we are on the road, it all changes, and I agree, it is very frustrating. I think we pit bull parents put extra pressure on ourselves because we are so aware of the breed impression and want so much to change everyone's mind by having them see this relaxed, charming pit bull going for a leisurely stroll. I've been thinking lately, though, that maybe its not the pit bull so much as the terrier part of him that makes it such a trying exercise. He is determined to go forward - fast - now. Why, I don't know. There isn't anything out there driving him, except maybe the hope he will spot a squirrel or something. He's more likely to see a critter in the back yard than along the road, though. Go figure.

Brownies Mom wrote:I think we pit bull parents put extra pressure on ourselves because we are so aware of the breed impression and want so much to change everyone's mind by having them see this relaxed, charming pit bull going for a leisurely stroll.

I agree 100%. Sometimes I have to remind myself that most people see Inara as a very well-behaved dog simply because she can sit/down/stay on command. That impresses a lot of people.

Quite frankly, as I'm the one who completely lost my mind Saturday morning, I feel as though I should be the president of the "I Hate Walking My Dog" club.

(though it's much nicer now that I've broken out the prong again)

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

Here is what I do mostly ... dog pulls I turn around and go the other way, make a circle or just change the angle of my walking to get her attention and say a command, like watch me, heel or whatever I am asking of the dog. Almost like doing some crazy heeling patterns. I will even turn into the dog instead of away at times. So days when a lot of squirrels out for example our mile walk takes quite a long time and is more like two miles due to the turning around, changing directions and walking in circles LOL.

That however take a lot of patience. If I'm not feeling well or am tired, I don't go.

Patch O' Pits Pursuit-O-Perfection

Run Hard at the Rainbow Bridge My Angel Sock-M! I Love You Baby Girl! Now that your Mom Starlit is up there too, please help her learn the ropes, love and keep her company until I can see you both again. Starlit I love you!http://i14.tinypic.com/2a8q345.jpg

Here is what I do mostly ... dog pulls I turn around and go the other way, make a circle or just change the angle of my walking to get her attention and say a command, like watch me, heel or whatever I am asking of the dog. Almost like doing some crazy heeling patterns. I will even turn into the dog instead of away at times. So days when a lot of squirrels out for example our mile walk takes quite a long time and is more like two miles due to the turning around, changing directions and walking in circles LOL.

That however take a lot of patience. If I'm not feeling well or am tired, I don't go.

Oh wow, I thought Magic and I were the only ones in the world that did the crazy let's walk 10 miles to get in one style of walk. My neighbors think I'm nuts. I go one way, then another, turn around in circles, into him, away from him, angle across the street, stop, go....okay so maybe I am nuts.

Occasionally we get a dog at work that has NO CLUE how to politely walk on a leash. Generally their first experience goes something like this:

I will glace over and notice one of my employees being drug all over the place by a dog, usually some sort of large breed. I take pity on the person (who most likely has run completely out of patience), go over and calmly take the leash. Dog has spazz attack. I stand there. Dog eventually calms down and we start a heel. Dog spazzes out again. I stop and turn and walk in another direction and generally continue in this random, crazy pattern for several minutes. Sometimes it takes upward of 10 minutes to walk 200 feet to the play area. By the time we get down there the dog is too damn exhausted to play.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

airwalk wrote:Oh wow, I thought Magic and I were the only ones in the world that did the crazy let's walk 10 miles to get in one style of walk. My neighbors think I'm nuts. I go one way, then another, turn around in circles, into him, away from him, angle across the street, stop, go....okay so maybe I am nuts.

LOL Hey, come on over , we can go for our walks together

Sometimes it takes upward of 10 minutes to walk 200 feet to the play area. By the time we get down there the dog is too damn exhausted to play.

Only 10 minutes? I'll send Bodacious over; she'll have the workers ready for a nap in 5 and she'll still be ready to play for a couple of hrs .

I know I can fix the pulling with a correction collar, but I love her drive and spunk.I've only done positive training with her.

Now If I run and play with her to tire her out before going for a walk, it makes a world of difference. A tired dog certainly is a better behaved one.

Patch O' Pits Pursuit-O-Perfection

Run Hard at the Rainbow Bridge My Angel Sock-M! I Love You Baby Girl! Now that your Mom Starlit is up there too, please help her learn the ropes, love and keep her company until I can see you both again. Starlit I love you!http://i14.tinypic.com/2a8q345.jpg

airwalk wrote:Magic and I will be right there...we can be the two crazy women walking in circles and patterns sort of together...with the fruity reactive dogs....your town will never be the same.

My neighbors probably already think I'm nuts so one more nut in the group would be a pleasure

Having a dog that loves everyone and everything, and wants to play with whatever she sees from butterflies to leaves blowing in the breeze can be a good workout for me.

Patch O' Pits Pursuit-O-Perfection

Run Hard at the Rainbow Bridge My Angel Sock-M! I Love You Baby Girl! Now that your Mom Starlit is up there too, please help her learn the ropes, love and keep her company until I can see you both again. Starlit I love you!http://i14.tinypic.com/2a8q345.jpg

I am so sorry to pull up a dead thread but I am SO GLAD to know I'm not the only person who struggles with walking my dogs! We usually try to walk both of them at the same time, which I have learned is our main problem...because it is always a dominance thing to them, they fight to be in 'the lead'. When we just have one at time they are usually so good on a leash. It has become such an exhausting hassle for us that we rarely go on walks anymore. Luckily though, our spring pole has provided them with a lot of that much needed exercise.

And you guys were so right, the easywalk harness is a JOKE we 'use' that one on Degan right now. We have tried a few harnesses but none have worked. We have never gotten prong collars because when Degan was little we a used choke chain, and he pulled so hard on it it pinched the skin on his throat and actually made him bleed a little... so I sort of assumed he was so impervious to pain that a prong collar would end up stabbing him and he would keep on tugging! Now though I am to the point where I want to try one just to see how that works.

~Brittany, Degan and Harlow's mom

"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm."

Here is what I do mostly ... dog pulls I turn around and go the other way, make a circle or just change the angle of my walking to get her attention and say a command, like watch me, heel or whatever I am asking of the dog. Almost like doing some crazy heeling patterns. I will even turn into the dog instead of away at times. So days when a lot of squirrels out for example our mile walk takes quite a long time and is more like two miles due to the turning around, changing directions and walking in circles LOL.

That however take a lot of patience. If I'm not feeling well or am tired, I don't go.

Just curious how you handle her when you are showing her. Do you find it difficult or does she react differently in that setting?